Studying in France as Americans: Six Month Master’s Degree Update
We can hardly believe that it’s been six months since we arrived in Reims, France to pursue our master’s degrees – in Logistics for Jalen and in Public Law for me – at the Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne. We’ve accomplished and experienced so much in just half a year, and we’re excited to talk about how we spent the month of February.
First and foremost, we received our results from the first semester of our master’s degrees at the beginning of this month. We are ecstatic to share that we passed! Though our studies present a certain number of obstacles, like studying fully in our second language, pursuing degrees in different fields than our undergraduate degrees in the States, adapting to online instruction, and more, Jalen and I are proud – and relieved – to have validated our semesters on the first try.
In the past few weeks, Jalen has been hard at work preparing and presenting projects on topics such as the production and distribution of various products, reverse logistics, and the circular economy. This semester, Jalen’s classes end early, at the end of March, and he will begin a logistics internship at a business based in Reims.
As for me, my Cours Magistraux, or lecture classes, and Travaux Dirigés, or seminar classes, are chugging along. Though I still spend a lot of time studying, I am finding that a new note-taking approach is helping me to better retain information. I’ve been particularly enjoying my Droit International Pénal class this month.
The weather in eastern France is beginning to warm up a bit, and we have had a few days of sunshine to punctuate the overcast days. Though the COVID-19 curfew remains in place from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM, and the majority of our classes continue to be held online, we have made the time to go on a few long walks to explore the city together.
This week, we are taking advantage of our one-week winter break to both relax and get some work done. So far, we’ve attended an online alumni event with the Modern Languages & Literatures department at our alma mater, browsed a thrift store with a friend in Reims, and had a picnic together in a local park. We hope to be refreshed, recharged, and ready to tackle the remainder of the semester after this much-needed week off.
If you have any questions or want to know more, leave us a comment down below!
Check out this month’s update video!
Check out our other monthly updates!
- September 2020
- October 2020
- November 2020
- December 2020
- January 2021
- March 2021
- April 2021
- May 2021
- June 2021
- July 2021
- August 2021
- September 2021
- October 2021
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- January 2022
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- August 2022
- September & October 2022
2 Comments
Andrea
Félicitations ! What a nice reward for all your hard work.
Jalen & Maria
Merci beaucoup !